Introduction to Fluid Mechanics - AAE51100
The basic conservation equations are derived for a comprehensible viscous fluid and then are specialized for applications in potential flow, viscous flow, and gas dynamics. Fundamental skills are developed to support future study in computational fluid dynamics, advanced aerodynamics, laminar-turbulent transition, and turbulence modeling.
Learning Objective: To develop a strong foundation at the graduate level in the fundamentals of fluid mechanics
Topics Covered:
- Fundamentals: tensor index notation, kinematics of fluid flow, thermodynamics for fluid flow, conservation equations, control volume analysis, constitutive equations, nondimensionalization, hydrostatics, boundary conditions, vorticity
- Potential Flow: review of complex analysis, potential flow, method of images, conformal mapping, axisymmetric and 3D potential flow
- Viscous Flow: review of partial differential equations, Couette flow, pipe flow, unsteady viscous flow, creeping flow, stagnation point flow, boundary layers, waves in fluids, laminar-turbulent transition, turbulence
Prerequisites: Necessary Background: Vector calculus, ordinary and partial differential equations, some exposure to complex variables. Undergraduate course in fluid mechanics or a background in Newtonian mechanics. Ability to program in MATLAB, Python, or other programming language.
Applied / Theory: 10 / 90
Web Address: https://purdue.brightspace.com
Homework: There will be approximately 11 homework assignments. These will require a significant time investment, and they will include both analytical and programming work.
Exams: A choice will be offered between in-person proctoring and online proctoring
Textbooks: Recommended: Fundamental Mechanics of Fluids (Fourth Edition), I.G. Currie, CRC Press 2013, ISBN 9781439874608. Text found here. This text is recommended, but not required. You can get through the course using the course notes.
Computer Requirements: Short programming projects will be assigned with the homework. This work can be done using the student's choice of programming language and plotting software. Matlab and Python are well suited to this work.